Fullmetal Gunslinger
by Lin-ZB
Summary: Roy Mustang and Riza Hawkeye attempt a forbidden human transmutation to bring back Riza's father, only to suffer a devastating rebound. State Alchemist Edward Elric - recently returned from the front lines of Ishval - finds them (role reversal, essentially).
1. Chapter 1

"Riza, give me your finger."

She held it out quietly, not even flinching when he drew the knife across her skin. He nodded, and she allowed the blood to drip onto the pile of elements.

"Blood of his blood," Roy murmured. "It should bring his soul back, right?"

She looked at him, eyes wide. "Why are you asking me?"

He shook his head. "No, yeah, yeah okay. Sorry."

They faced the transmutation circle and the ingredients. Roy took a deep, shuddering breath, and then placed his hands on the circle.

The reaction was instantaneous. Riza stepped back, awed by the size of it, but Roy leaned in, grinning eagerly.

"We're gonna do it," he cried. Riza smiled too, and crouched behind him.

But then the energy flying from the circle changed; it turned dark and began to whirl faster, tendrils reaching out dangerously.

"What's wrong?" Riza yelled. The whirling energy was generating a fearsome wind.

"I don't know!" Roy yelled back, panic creeping into his voice. "I don't know!"

One of the tendrils snapped out, and Roy recoiled from the circle. The tendril grabbed Riza instead. It pulled her in, where the center of the energy had condensed into something too bright to look at.

"Roy!" she shrieked. "Help me!"

He lunged for her, but the arm he reached for was grabbed by another dark strand. He kept reaching, but the darkness began dissolving her arm. Riza was screaming still, and he joined her when he saw that her entire body was disintegrating.

"Riza!"

"Help me!" She was crying now, straining against the energy pulling her back.

Roy threw out his other arm to catch her, but she was too far gone. Something appeared behind her – a dark, heavy shape that suddenly opened into a door. He pushed forward, but the massive energy from the rebound threw him back. There was a sudden excruciating pain in his left eye, and he fell to his knees with his hands clutching his face. The last thing he saw out of his one eye were her two eyes, locked onto his with such a desperate hope. The door closed.

"Bring her back!" Roy screamed. "Bring her back!"

He looked around frantically. They had decided to use her father's work room, thinking that maybe trying to bring him back in a place where he spent much of his life would aid them. The room was filled with books and half full vials of explosive compounds, but on one wall there was a line of experimental robots that Roy had never been allowed to touch.

He dragged himself to his feet, clutching his bleeding head, and staggered to the nearest of the machines. It was heavy, but he managed to pull it down and back to the edge of the circle.

"Bring her back," he whimpered through gritted teeth. He took a bloodstained finger and drew a sigil inside the robot's chest cavity. "Bring her back."

He pressed his hands on the robot desperately.

The reaction began, and Roy felt the energy clawing at him again. "Fine!" he cried. "I don't care, take it, take anything, but bring her back!"

A tendril snaked around his right arm, and Roy began to scream.

Riza woke up petrified. She had been next to Roy, but then she was pulled away- but now here she was. Roy was slumped across her, blood flowing out of him from far too many places and far too fast. She sat up – she felt terrible, all of her joints were stiff – and tried to collect Roy in her arms. One hand settled around his shoulder, but the other hand… The other hand was not a hand. It was a gun. Riza looked hard at her arm, and saw that it was metal. But she did not give it much thought, because over her not-arm, she saw the transmutation circle. There was something in the middle of it, but whatever it was, it was not her father.

"Riza," Roy breathed.

She tore her attention away from the abomination. "What happened?" she choked. "This isn't right."

"No," Roy groaned, clutching his bleeding shoulder. "The rebound took your body, and I tried- I tried to get it back, Riza, I'm so sorry, but I couldn't. I put your soul in one of the- the robots-"

"How?" she cried.

"Equivalent exchange," he gasped.

"Equivalent-," she began, but then she remembered that he had been reaching for her with that missing arm. "You idiot!"

"I'm sorry," he said again, forcing a weak smile. Riza was about to scold him again, but he convulsed and then fell limp.

"Roy!" she cried. He did not respond.

She slid her gun arm beneath Roy's legs as best she could and stood. She was off balance, and the heavy clanking of her movements was disorienting. When she was fully on both feet, she was much too tall. The thing in the circle was still there, and from her height it was much easier to see. She fled the workroom, stumbling up the stairs in her new body. She crashed through the unlocked doors, until she collapsed to her knees outside the house.

"Please help!" she cried into the night air. "Please, he's hurt and I don't know what to do!"

Against all odds, someone came. He was a young military officer with blonde hair and striking golden eyes, and he came running up the road too fast to have just been a passer-by.

"What's happened here?" he asked brusquely, but not unkindly.

"Please," Riza begged, "he's hurt, I don't know what went wrong, but he's going to die if you don't help him!"

"Is this your house?" he asked.

"Yes," Riza said impatiently. She was about to complain again that they needed to do something _now _when the officer took Roy from her arms.

"Come on then. We need to get out of this rain, and he needs a bed."

Riza stood – she was taller than the officer – and followed him inside. She couldn't help but glance anxiously at the half-open door to the basement workroom as she walked past, but the officer started talking again.

"Where's the nearest bedroom?"

Riza pointed up the center stairs. "It's on the left, um, the second door."

"Do you keep the bandages near there?"

"No," she said.

"Then go get some, as many as you can, and then get a basin of water and some towels," he ordered, already walking up the stairs.

Riza did not answer, but turned and started for the storage room and the medical supplies therein. She found her strides longer as she walked, and was momentarily baffled when she saw the room from her new height. Even so, she found a large basin for water, and loaded the bandages and towels into it. Having a task to do soothed her nerves, so even when she brought the bandages and towels into the bedroom and saw Roy covered in his own blood, she was reasonably calm. She took the basin and filled it with water, and wondered as she brought it back if the officer had wanted it warm.

When she arrived for the last time with the water, the officer nodded his thanks and motioned for her to put it next to him. She did, and then backed away to stand at the wall, where she had a better view of Roy.


	2. Chapter 2

Roy woke to the smell of water and clean linen. He blinked, and then put his hand to his left eye, which had not blinked. There was bandage covering it, as well as most of the left side of his head. Thinking to find a mirror to see the damage, he began to sit up, but a splitting pain in his right shoulder stopped him. Sinking back into the pillows, he looked over to see that his right shoulder was, in fact, all that remained of his right arm. He grimaced as he remembered everything that had happened in the workroom. Then he did sit upright, pain in his shoulder be damned, because Riza was in danger.

"Whoa, hey there," someone said. Roy had to turn his head to completely see the man sitting by his bedside, wearing a military uniform and a braid in his blonde hair.

"Where is she?" Roy said, and was surprised to hear his voice come out normally.

"Your friend in the armor? Right over there," the man said, pointing.

Roy looked, and saw the robot huddled against the wall. He sighed, then, exhaling everything supporting him and lay back down.

"I'm sorry," he said softly. "I've caused a lot of trouble, haven't I?"

"I caused it too." Riza's voice sounded strange and hollow coming out of the machine. Roy closed his eye and turned his head away from her.

"So who are you?" he asked the officer.

"The one who bandaged you up, so a little gratitude would be appreciated," the man said, raising his eyebrow.

Roy ducked his head. "Thanks."

"Don't mention it," the officer said. "I'm Major Edward Elric."

"What are you doing here? I mean, we're not exactly close to any military bases."

"You've been making a name for yourself, Roy Mustang," Major Elric said, allowing a bit of a smile into his voice. "The brilliant assistant to Bert Hawkeye, correcting his master's work – your name's gotten around. I came to investigate."

"You want to take him into the army," Riza said suddenly, bitterly.

"Not if he doesn't want to go," the major said smoothly. "But it's an option. State alchemists are afforded a lot of privileges, and a very handsome salary. Roy, you're a very talented alchemist already. You could do your country a lot of good as a state alchemist."

"My father said that state alchemists are the dogs of the military," Riza continued.

Major Elric smirked ruefully. "He was right, but that doesn't mean it's all bad. You have a lot of authority, and you get a pretty hefty research grant each year. State alchemists aren't regular soldiers."

"Are you a state alchemist?" Roy asked, shooting Riza a glance.

"I am, but I'm also a soldier," Elric said. He reached into his pocket and produced a silver pocket watch. "This is the badge of a state alchemist, that's given to you when you pass the exam. You also receive a second name related to your particular skills."

"So what's yours?"

Elric smiled a little, obviously proud. "I'm the Fullmetal alchemist."

Roy nodded, but did not continue the conversation. After several moments of silence, Elric stood.

"I'm going to make up a bed in the next room. I'll stay the night with you two, and in the morning we can see about getting you to a proper doctor," he said.

"Do you need any help?" Riza asked automatically, as she had always asked her father.

"I'll be fine, thank you," Elric said. He left the room and closed the door with a small click.

"Do you need a bed?" Roy asked as soon as the door was closed.

"I don't think so," Riza said slowly. "I don't… I'm not sleepy. I don't think I can sleep, even if I wanted to."

"Are you sure?"

"You were out for a long time," she said. "I tried."

"Okay."

Riza still sat on the floor, but with the major gone, she found herself more anxious to watch over Roy herself. She stood, trying to be quiet, but she clanked and creaked the whole way up. Roy was looking at her, and she could tell that he was trying not to stare.

"How do I look?" she joked weakly as she stepped to the bedside chair.

"Like a robot," he said simply.

"Ha ha." She tried to make a face at him, but nothing changed.

"Your eyes glow," Roy said after a second. "They're kind of reddish."

"Huh."

And then she was crying. She didn't know how she was doing it, lacking everything that should be producing the tears, but she was crying anyway, big heaving sobs from the gut of her soul. Roy tried to calm her down, but failed when he began to cry.

Vision unblurred by tears, Riza was able to see when he flinched and grabbed his shoulder after a particularly big sob. That, unfortunately, made her cry harder. They fed off each other like this for a while, until Roy quieted into an unhappy doze. Riza leaned on the bed and looked at him, so pale and gaunt. He had seemed so much stronger than her when he swore they could get her father back. And now there he was, and she – well, she was a robot. She supposed she would have to spend a while figuring out how to work herself, especially with a gun for a hand.

But her thoughts were interrupted. Roy wasn't asleep, and he clenched his remaining hand tightly around the sheets.

"Riza, I promise you that I'll do everything I can to get you your body back," he whispered.

"And you," she replied, and almost laughed to see the startled look he wore. "Did you think I'd let you go sacrifice yourself for me again? We're in this together. I'll get your body back too."

The next morning, Major Elric brought a tray of food up for the two children. They were grateful and in better spirits than in the night; the bright sunlight streaming through the bedroom windows made sure of that. They did, however, fall subdued when they saw the look on the major's face.

"I went into the basement last night," he said. The kids looked at each other guiltily. "Human transmutation is forbidden," he continued. "I don't think I have to explain why, now."

"No sir," Roy mumbled. Riza hung her head.

"Do you mind if I ask who it was?" Elric pressed.

"My dad," Riza said tonelessly.

Elric crossed to her side and put his hand on her shoulder. "I understand. My father left when I was very young, and my mother died a few years later."

"Did you-"

"No," Elric said sharply. "But I almost did. My brother and I were desperate, but no. Not that desperate."

"Will you arrest us?" Roy asked.

"No," Elric said. "You're just kids, and you know better. But you can never tell anyone that you did this. Not everyone is as understanding as I am."

It sounded like a threat, but it was certainly true.

"Are you gonna blackmail us?" Roy asked, Master Hawkeye's distrust of the military kicking in.

Elric chuckled bitterly. "No, kid. I'm not that kind of a man. You'll have to trust me on that." He looked down at Riza, whose plate of food was untouched. "Go on, eat. You'll need your strength."

"I'm not hungry," she said.

"Even so, you should-"

"No, I'm not hungry. I can't be hungry," Riza insisted. When he looked like he was going to protest, she grabbed the tiny handle she had discovered in the front of her chest casing and pulled open the panel. "I'm not human anymore. I'm not hungry."

Elric stared in shock, but Roy managed a tight smile.

"That's my doing, sir. The rebound took her body, but I sealed her soul to a prototype robot in the workroom. You can see the sigil in the back, there."

"This is- you did this?"

Roy nodded.

"After the rebound got your arm and your eye?"

"No sir, the rebound only took my eye. I lost the arm bringing her back," Roy said.

"I'll be damned," Elric muttered. "You really are something else, boy."

The conversation died as Riza closed herself back up, but there was still business to attend to.

"Now, I have a friend in Central who's an automail mechanic," Elric said after Roy ate some of his breakfast. "You don't have to do it, but she could give you a new arm."


	3. Chapter 3

A few days later, the Hawkeye manor stood deserted. Major Elric had buried the monstrosity behind the house, and the children had packed up their essentials. They took a tense train ride into Central, and pretty soon were in front of a narrow shop called Rockbell Automail and Medicine.

"Winry, I've brought customers!" Major Elric called as he stepped through the door.

"Ed?" a woman yelled from somewhere within the shop. "Is that you? Why do you never call before you come over?"

The woman emerged from a back room, wiping a greasy wrench with a cloth that did not seem to be doing much good. She was strongly built, corded muscle wrapping around her arms and shoulders. She wore a black crop top and a jumpsuit rolled down around her waist, and her blonde hair was pulled into a messy ponytail. She was covered in machine oil and sweat.

"You look like you've been having fun," Elric said wryly.

"I just got a new model," she said, eyes fairly lighting up with excitement. "But who are your friends?"

"This is Roy Mustang and Riza Hawkeye. Roy, Riza, this is Winry Rockbell."

"Pleased to meet you," Winry said, extending her hand to Roy first. He shrank back, covering the loose sleeve that hung from his right shoulder. Winry pulled her hand back with a tight smile. "I apologize." She turned and looked up at Riza, who was able to shake hands.

"Are you his guardian?" Winry asked.

"What? No, I'm, we're the same age," Riza stammered.

Winry looked to the major, raising her eyebrows. He shook his head, and so Winry returned her focus to the extraordinary children in front of her. "Well then, how about you come in and make yourselves comfortable, and I'll get Mr. Self Important State Alchemist out of your hair."

"Hey!"

* * *

"So?" Winry said as soon as she pulled Ed into the kitchen.

"So what?"

"You know so what," she said, frowning at him. "What happened to those two? I thought you were going out looking for a skilled alchemist to recruit, not a kid."

Ed rubbed his head before answering. "The boy's a talented alchemist; the rumors were about him. He tried a human transmutation on Bert Hawkeye, and when the girl got caught in the rebound, he brought her soul back and sealed it to that mechanical thing."

"Are you serious?" Winry released Ed's lapel. "He can't be more than ten."

"Eleven, actually," Ed said. "They both are."

Winry gave a low whistle. "So is Mustang gonna get automail, then?"

"I don't know, but I did tell him it's an option."

"So why'd you bring them to me?" Winry asked.

"Al's out of town, researching something in East City. I would have had them stay with him, otherwise-"

"Oh, so you call your brother to see if he's home but not me. I see how it is."

"Winry! Come on, I knew you'd be here. You have customers to think about."

She grinned and punched Ed's shoulder. "I'm messing with you. It's fine, they can help me out around the shop."

"Thanks Winry, you're the best."

"I know, I know," she said. The grin faded from her face. "So how are you doing? Is the leg working properly."

Ed waved one hand carelessly. "I'm fine. Deal with the kids first; I can wait."

Winry sighed heavily. "Fine. If you say so."

* * *

Winry returned with a simple meal for Roy, who had settled into an overstuffed sofa in the waiting room. Riza sat next to him, managing to be tentative despite her size and lack of facial muscles.

"So," Winry said brightly. "Have either of you two been to Central before?"

Riza shook her head.

"I've been," Roy said. "My aunt lives here."

"Really? Why didn't Ed take you straight to her, then?" Winry asked.

"I uh, I forgot to tell him," Roy said, staring at his feet.

Winry watched him for a few seconds and decided not to ask. She sighed and leaned back in her chair.

"Look, I was trying to make you guys comfortable, but we can just talk about the elephant in the room now if you'd like," she said, grinning sheepishly.

"Which elephant?" Roy said wryly.

"Your arm," Winry said. "There's nothing I can do about your eye, but I can make you an automail arm if you want it." When Roy didn't answer, she continued. "You don't have to decide right away, but I just want you to know that you have that option."

"I know," he said. "Major Elric told me before we came here. I think- yes, I'll get a new arm." He looked up and met Winry's eyes squarely. "Please Ms. Rockbell, can you do that?"

Winry smiled broadly. "Absolutely."

* * *

After a discussion about preliminary arm measurements and price estimates, the rest of the evening passed more comfortably. Winry went upstairs to set up beds for her guests, and they retired gratefully. Riza, however, still couldn't find sleep, and lay awake, listening to the chatter of a big city night. Eventually, she realized that she was hearing actual chatter. Chatter, and the clinking of metal parts that could only be automail. She glanced at the clock; it was very late.

As quietly as she could, Riza snuck out of her room and down the hallway to the stairs. From there, it was much easier to hear, and she settled down to listen.

"Ed, you should have let me look at you sooner." Winry sounded exasperated; not quite energetic enough to be truly annoyed, but she was not pleased.

"I didn't want to worry you," the major said. "I've given you enough to think about, and it's really not so bad."

"Not so bad? Not so bad? Your automail is cutting off your circulation and you say it's not so bad?"

"Winry, quiet!"

"Don't you tell me to be quiet Edward Elric," she scolded, but in a whisper. "You just sit still and let me take a look at you."

There was a pause, punctuated by metallic creaks and occasional murmurs.

"Damnit Ed," Winry sighed. "You're too old to-"

"Hey now, I'm only 26, you know."

"I don't mean you're old old, but your body's stopped growing, and it's hard for you to adjust to having metal parts. You have to be careful."

"I am careful! It's just…" he trailed off, unable to come up with a good excuse.

Winry sighed, and Riza could imagine her shaking her head. "I don't know what the top brass thinks you should be doing after everything you did, but you were supposed to take three years for full recovery. It's only been a year and a half."

"I know how long it's been, and I'm fine. I just caught a blow wrong-"

"Oh, so you've been fighting! Fighting on new automail, that's just great-"

"Winry, _please_. I can't just drop out of everything because of a few- grah!"

"Sorry, one of the nerves wasn't connected properly," Winry said, almost smugly.

"Geez, would you warn me next time?"

"There shouldn't _be _a next time, Ed. You tell them that you're off the front lines, doctor's orders."

"But I can't-"

"You will tell them, or I will tell them for you," Winry threatened. "I was in Ishval with you; they know I'm a skilled doctor."

There was another silence, this one heavy and motionless.

"Can we… not talk about this?" the major said slowly. "Please, just tune me up."

"Yeah, alright. Sorry."

"No, I'm sorry. I'll try to be more careful."

"Good."

Riza had heard too much. She crept gingerly back to her room, flinching as she clanked with each step.

Ed and Winry paused, every nerve buzzing, at the sounds floating down the stairs. After a second, Winry sighed.

"Damn. She probably heard all that, didn't she?"

Ed slumped. "Probably."


	4. Chapter 4

"Roy!" Winry wailed as she walked up the sidewalk. "What are you doing?"

Roy ducked under Riza's punch and called a time out. "Practicing. What does it look like?"

"It looks like you're deliberately disobeying me," Winry said, striding up to them.

"Nuh uh!" Roy protested. "I'm fine. We always stop if it starts hurting."

Winry glared at him before turning to Riza. "And you, young miss? You're letting him?"

Riza ducked her head. "Sorry Miss Winry."

Roy grinned at her.

"Well, I suppose there's no stopping you," Winry sighed. "But one of you can carry my kit inside. I need to talk to your aunt."

Chris Mustang had found out that her nephew and foster son was in Central the day after he and Riza arrived. She was not pleased that Roy had had the audacity to try a forbidden form of alchemy, but even less pleased that he had neglected to come straight to her after Master Hawkeye died.

"I had to find out from one of my girls that he was dead!" she bellowed. "And I heard nothing at all from you! The newspapers said that you kids had gone missing, and here I find that you were swept away by a state alchemist and taken to some city automail mechanic. No offense, of course," she added, turning to Ed and Winry.

"None taken," they said in concert, holding up their open palms.

"And what do I find when I get here?" she continued. "I find my boy missing an arm and an eye, and his friend stuck in a robot!"

The kids had turned their faces away, but Roy still flinched when she delivered the last line. He clenched his fist and tried to bite back the sob in his throat. But Chris had spent her anger, and she sank down into a chair.

"You lost your arm," she whispered. "Oh, Roy…"

"I'm sorry!" he cried. "I didn't mean to, I mean, I just wanted-"

"Come here, idiot," Chris said.

Roy collapsed into her arms and buried his face in her shoulder. "I just wanted to help," he bawled. Riza hung back, but her reluctance did not go unnoticed.

"You get over here too," Chris ordered. Riza did, self-conscious about her body, but Chris was a big woman with a bigger heart, and so Riza found herself engulfed in a hug.

That was a year ago. In the time since, Roy had received his automail arm and started wearing a black eyepatch over his ruined socket, and he had continued his alchemical studies under Major Elric's brother, Alphonse. Master Al, as they called him, was not a state alchemist, but was more of a researcher. Despite this, he was skilled in unarmed combat, and so taught both Riza and Roy how to defend themselves.

"It's important not to rely on any one skill," he told them. "So even if you are an alchemist, you should know how to do things without alchemy. And that includes protecting yourself and who you love."

For Riza, Al made a soundproof shooting range in the basement of his house. She was flabbergasted by the gesture, but Al only smiled and told her that he hadn't been using the room for anything anyway.

The kids lived with Al during the week, studying and helping him around the house. On the weekends, they stayed with Chris, who eventually adopted Riza to give her an official guardian.

Riza took Winry's box into the house. She tried to hang around, but was shooed back out into the yard.

"D'you know what they're talking about?" Roy asked.

"No," Riza said, "but since Winry brought her kit, it could be about your automail."

"I hope it is," Roy said, idly kicking at the grass. "I asked Miss Rockbell if I could have a steel and flint put into my fingers, so I can generate sparks to do flame alchemy with."

"You know Aunt Chris would never let you do that."

"She might! I told her that I'm going to take the state alchemist exam, and she didn't argue with me."

"That's because she's going to lock you in a cage the day of," Riza said, a little too confidently to be lying, and a little too deadpan to be telling the truth.

"Then I'll just go the year after," Roy said.

"Nah. She'll make it a tradition. Roy-wrangling, our annual celebration of the state alchemist exam."

"Oh come on! I'll get too old eventually!"

"You'll never escape!" Riza countered, and soon the pair were sparring again in an epic duel for Roy's future.

By the time Winry had finished talking to Chris, the kids had exhausted themselves, and were laying peacefully on the lawn, watching the clouds.

"Hey, Roy-boy," Chris called from the doorway. "Come here."

Having learned quickly that one did not ask the famed Madame Christmas to repeat herself, Roy scrambled to his feet and into the house. Riza was slower, but close on his tail.

"Now Miss Rockbell here tells me that you want to get a flint and steel put on your hand," she said sternly.

"Yes ma'am," Roy said.

"Well, I'm going to allow it, so long as you swear by the skin on your back that you won't ever use it in the house, or the city, or anywhere that isn't specifically for alchemy."

"Alright!" he cried. "Thank you so much!"  
"Ah-ah-ah," Chris said, grabbing the fist he had used to punch the air. "Swear it."

"I swear," Roy said.

"You swear what?"

"I swear that I won't use it in the house, or the city, or anywhere that isn't for alchemy," he said sullenly.

"Alright," Chris said, releasing him.

"Whoo hoo!" Roy whooped, pushing past her to find Winry. Riza laughed a little at her adopted mother's wry smile before following Roy.

"- and the thumb is going to have a little cover like this," Winry was saying as Riza approached, "to keep it from sparking on anything else."

"Awesome," Roy breathed, crouched over the blueprints.

"So, you ready for it?" Winry asked.

"Huh? You mean now?"

"Of course, silly. Did you think I dragged my box all the way over here just to talk to your mom?"

"I guess not," Roy giggled.

"Okay, this table is about the same height as the couch, so you can just lay there and put your arm here…."

Master Al was very impressed with Roy's new toy.

"It's a good idea," he said. "Most alchemists have to find some way of speeding up their transmutation process if they want to be active state alchemists."

"So can I try it out now?" Roy begged. He had been buzzing with energy since Winry fitted him with the spark rig.

"How about we go down to the shooting range to test it," Al said.

"Okay!"

Riza was down already, and had already emptied a clip into the center of a target.

"You need moving targets, don't you?" Al said thoughtfully.

"Oh yes please," Riza said. "I feel like I'm wasting ammo just practicing on these."

"Well, I'll see what we can do," Al said. "For now, would you mind taking a break? Roy's going to try his new way of doing flame alchemy."

"About time," Riza said with a laugh.

"So Roy, you go inside the range and just start by generating little flames," Al said, pointing to the interior door. "Away from us!" he added, when Roy positioned himself facing the open cubicles.

It took Roy a few tries to get the hang of making the spark in the first place, but once he got that, it was an easy matter for him to create small flames. After a few minutes of working up to bigger and bigger bursts, Al called a stop.

"It'd be better if we could do this out in the open," he muttered.

"What's the matter?" Roy called.

"You're using up a lot of air," Al explained. "We'd be better doing this outside, but we need to find a place where people won't see what you're doing and panic."

And that was when they decided to take a vacation.


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: **I have to admit that everything I posted so far was written in one very productive week or so and now I don't have anything else until like, the Liore situation (and that's really bad and needs to be re-written) so updates are probably going to slow wayyyyy down and for that I apologize. I already have one indefinite hiatus fic and I don't want to do that again, so I'm going to try really hard to write this regularly!

* * *

In his boyhood days, Alphonse and his brother had stumbled across a truly fearsome alchemy teacher who had stranded them on an island for a month to see if they were worthy of becoming her apprentices. He promised not to do the same to his two charges, but the fact that he had told them the story at all made them wary.

Regardless of legends, however, the island was a lovely place. A little deserted perhaps, but that _was _the idea.

"Now, I didn't bring enough food to last us more than a day," Al said. "Part of your training here is going to be catching and cooking your own meals."

"What if you're terrible at cooking?" Roy asked.

"Once you're hungry enough, that doesn't matter," Al said. Roy made a face at Riza, who shrugged. She didn't eat.

"You're also going to have to find or make your own shelter, but the climate here is pretty mild, so you won't have to worry too much about that," he continued. "Basically, you need to learn to survive alone in nature, without depending on other people."

"So we aren't working together?" Riza asked.

"I won't be working with you," Al explained, "not for the survival part, anyway. You two can cooperate."

Roy was feeling better about the whole escapade already. It would be easy enough to make a fire, certainly, and he had gotten good enough at manipulating other elements to make a crude shelter.

"And one last thing; no alchemy."

"What?" Roy cried, startled out of his planning.

"You heard me, no alchemy," Al said.

"But Master, you said that we came here so I could practice using my flame alchemy-"

"And so you will," Al said, "but you won't use it after you're finished practicing with me. Alchemy is great, but sometimes you need to do things without it." He turned away from them and began rifling through one of his large bags.

"Tough luck," Riza whispered.

"It's alright for you," Roy hissed back. "You don't need to worry about any of this stuff."

"It'll be good for you, city boy," she teased.

"Alright," Al said, straightening up. "I have your rations here; you can choose to eat them now, or save them for later." He handed the paper-wrapped package to Roy, who put it in his own bag. Al nodded approvingly and then clapped his hands. "Let's start with your lessons, then. Since we were on that boat for a while, we'll begin with sparring."

.

Al let them off after a few hours of physical activity, telling them to go get started on their dinner before it got too dark to hunt. Riza went to go catch the food while Roy started work on a rudimentary hut for the night.

Riza had expected hunting to take a long time – she hadn't done it in over a year for one thing, and for another, she was certain she scared off every animal within earshot just by existing. But she found that once she located a likely spot for game to appear and settled in to wait, she was as quiet as she had ever been. Quieter, even, for not needing to breathe or adjust her body for discomfort allowed her to be completely still.

The island was teeming with animal life, and so it was within a quite reasonable span of time that a large rabbit hopped into view. Riza shot it straight through the head.

"Alright!" she cried, scrambling out of her hiding spot. She scooped up her kill by the legs and returned to camp. The sun was still entirely above the horizon.

Roy, however, had not had Riza's luck. He had managed a tent-like structure for himself and a large canopy of leaves for Riza, but there was no fire.

"Back so soon?" he asked, hastily stepping in front of the sad wood pile that was supposed to be ready to cook the rabbit.

"Roy," Riza sighed.

"Look, making a fire without alchemy is hard!" he said.

"Apparently so," Riza said dryly. "Can you skin a rabbit?"

"Uh," he said.

"Right. Well, I can't do it with one hand, so I'll talk you through it. I packed a knife in my bag," Riza said. She handed the rabbit to Roy. "Hold this while I get it."

He stared in vague disgust at the body, but did ultimately hold it. Riza returned with her knife and set it and the rabbit on the ground.

"Okay, so the first thing you do is slice the skin on the stomach open, all the way from the neck down."

.

It took a lot longer than it should have, but Roy managed to skin the rabbit and get it cooked with Riza's help.

"How do you know all this?" he asked after he'd taken the first hunk of meat off the spit.

"Where do you think all our meat came from before we moved to Central?" Riza countered. "My dad didn't have money to buy it."

"But you were only ten!" Roy protested.

"You were eleven when you came up with a theory of human transmutation," she said. "Hunting's easier than that."

They fell quiet, Roy pondering the implications of Riza's admission, and Riza wishing she could smell the cooking meat.

.

Al woke Roy at sunrise the next day, much to the boy's chagrin. He had fallen straight asleep after putting out the fire, but that had been very late, since Riza had insisted he cook all the rabbit meat that night. She was perfectly chipper, and had all sorts of observations to share about the nocturnal animals on the island. Roy seethed quietly at her over his breakfast of cold rabbit meat.

"It's so different from living in a populated place," she said to Al while he and Roy ate. "There was some noise, I think it was frogs, that didn't stop the entire night. And I saw some foxes sniffing around where I buried what was left of the rabbit."

"Sounds like you're going to be a regular biologist," Al said.

"Well, it's good to learn about the wildlife here if we have to live off it," Riza said. Although her body language was all but impossible to read, Roy could hear the quiet pride in her voice. His grumpiness softened a bit.

After breakfast, it was another round of sparring, and then a lecture on ecosystems. Al used it to explain what he considered the central truth of alchemy, beyond even equivalent exchange; One is All, All is One.

This was something his teacher had taught him – or rather, had him learn – on the very same island many years before. She had apparently discovered it for herself during survival training on Mt. Briggs for a month, but the two students weren't sure how much of that tale they believed. Regardless of its origins, it was a beautiful theory.

"One is all, huh," Roy murmured that night as he stared into the stars. He had decided he didn't care for his poorly made shelter.

"I like it," Riza said next to him.

"It sounds really grand, sure," Roy said, "but I don't think it's really practical."

"Why does it matter if it's practical?" Riza asked. "It's true."

"You sound awfully sure of that."

"It's what hunting's all about," she said. "Everything you eat ate something else, that ate something else, that ate something else, so you're eating all those things too. It's like everything is connected, so you can't have one thing without a bunch of other stuff."

"And I'm supposed to be the alchemist," Roy grumbled, rolling over.

"Oh come on," Riza laughed. "It's not just an alchemy thing."

"I guess it's what makes alchemy possible in the first place," Roy said, almost to himself, and rolled back to stargaze. "One is all. So how about all is one?"

"Well I don't know," Riza said bluntly. "I bet that's the alchemy part of it."

Roy laughed.

.

The next day, Al brought out a truly alarming number of clay discs that he must have alchemized from the island's soil.

"Today we're going to help Miss Riza with her shooting," he said. "So Roy, you take half of these and go to that side of the clearing. I'll stay over here, and Riza, you go down to the edge there. We're going to throw the discs one at a time, and you have to shoot them out of the air."

"So it's moving target practice," Riza said.

"That's correct. Now get moving, you two!"

They scattered to their respective positions. Riza checked the reload on her gun arm to make sure it was as smooth as ever, and then settled into a secure, but hopefully mobile stance.

"I'll throw the first one," Al called. "And then we'll alternate. Ready?"

"Ready!" Riza shouted back.

The first disc flew up, and she took aim and fired. But the disc started falling, and her bullet went high over the mark.

"Next!"

Roy's disc was lower, and she again shot too high. She noticed dimly that when the discs hit the ground, they didn't shatter. Al threw another one, and she over compensated and her shot went just under the disc's edge. She clipped Roy's next one, but could not get a solid hit in for a while.

When they were finally out of discs, Riza was frustrated. She stewed over the difficulties of shooting a flying target as she swept her bullet casings into a pile while the other two collected the fallen discs. Al returned carrying most of them, but Roy set his stack down in front of her on Al's instruction.

"These are all the ones you hit," Al said. "Congratulations."

"Thank you," Riza said tersely.

"They'll be a useful study tool. For instance," he continued, "we can see already that you're remarkably consistent. Almost all of these shots are grazes. If you weren't aiming properly, you either wouldn't have hit any, or what few shots you made would be scattered in different places on the discs. I'd say you're adapting to moving targets quite quickly, Riza. You should be pleased."

"Yes, thank you," she said. She had a shell in her hand and was rolling it idly around her fingers.

"I think we'll start doing this daily," Al said. "The practice will be good for you." He glanced at Roy, who was rubbing his exhausted shoulder. "It'll be good for all of us."

.

As the days wore on, Riza's accuracy improved. It was a slow process, but visible, and it mollified her frustration some. What also mollified it was Master Al introducing a joint target practice after Roy proved himself able to pinpoint his flames. These exercises involved Al standing by an almost comically large pile of clay balls – a smaller target for Riza, but also more easily thrown - and throwing them rapidly in the general direction of both children. Roy was to explode them in midair, and Riza was to shoot them down.

Al was a master of misdirection, and frequently surprised both of his students with his irregular throwing patterns. This had the desired effect of teaching them to be ready for anything, and the bonus of flustering them when they were well and truly caught off guard. Roy had a most undignified squawk that he reserved for being hit in the chest by a lump of clay.

By the end of their month on the island, Roy was catching, killing, skinning, and cooking his own meals. Riza was very proud, but she also could not help but feel a little left out. She didn't say anything, but as Roy finished the last of his fish, he looked over at her.

"Thanks for teaching me all this stuff," he said.

"Huh? Sure, no problem," she replied.

"No," he said, looking down at the fire between them, "I really mean it. I would hate to ask you to do all this stuff for me when you don't benefit from it."

Riza could not come up with a response, so she nodded and hummed.

"So I've decided that I'm definitely going to get your body back," he said. "And the first thing I'm gonna do is cook you something."

She was so surprised by his earnestness that she laughed. Roy flushed and threw a stick at her. That only made her laugh more, but she held out her hand in a peace offering.

"I'm not teasing you," she said. "That's really sweet."

"Yeah, well, it's the least I can do," Roy said sulkily into his arms, which he had crossed over his knees, which he had pulled into his chest.

"Thank you," Riza said softly. "I can't wait."

She couldn't smile, but her voice made it obvious that she was anyway. Roy ducked his head and started putting out the fire.


End file.
